Bryant, Lakers coast to victory against New York

NEW YORK - He didn't break any records Friday night. He didn't hit any breathtaking baskets with the game on the line. He didn't even play a second in the fourth quarter of the Lakers' 113-96 victory over the New York Knicks.

Kobe Bryant's best moves, his biggest baskets happened when many of the 19,763 fans at Madison Square Garden were just settling into their seats. He's known as one of the game's great closers, but on this night he was a dynamic starter.

Bryant threw a bad pass a little more than a minute into the game and then tossed another into the hands of an opponent a few moments later. Soon enough, the Lakers were down by eight points and struggling to keep their heads above water.

That's when Bryant struck, at the beginning instead of the end.

That's when the Lakers needed him the most, when as coach Phil Jackson would later phrase it, "When he turned the game into a spectacle."

Bryant scored 19 of his team-leading 33 points in the first quarter, making seven of his first nine shots, putting the Lakers on course for their fourth consecutive victory to start their seven-game trip.

He also finished with a team-leading 10 rebounds.

"I think he was frustrated that he made mistakes with the basketball," Jackson said. "He said, 'What the heck, I've been passing the ball and they have been intercepting it - so I better shoot here and carry my end of the stick.'"

By the end of the first quarter, Bryant and the Lakers led by only 30-28, but the tone was set. The Knicks would not be stopping the Lakers in this game, not with Bryant seemingly able to score at will and the rest of the team following in lock step.

By game's end, it was evident that this was no one-man show. Bryant had plenty of help in turning the game into a runaway by the third quarter, when the Lakers led by as many as 18 points. For example, Pau Gasol added 20 points and six rebounds.

Lamar Odom scored 14 points, Andrew Bynum had 12 points and nine rebounds and Shannon Brown scored 12, including two on a spectacular catch and dunk on a lob pass from Steve Blake to finish a second-quarter fastbreak.

The Lakers were so far ahead entering the fourth quarter that Jackson allowed Bryant, Derek Fisher and Ron Artest to watch the final period from the comfort of the bench. Gasol played only 3:18 in the fourth and Bynum played 5:40.

Suddenly, the Lakers' recent problems seem like ancient history.

Their indifferent play has faded into memory and their inability to play sound defense hasn't been in evidence during victories over New Orleans, Memphis, Boston and New York.

They held their fifth consecutive opponent to less than 100 points and won for the 11 th time in 16 games since defeating the Knicks on Jan. 9 at Staples Center. New York is only 5-11 since losing to the Lakers 109-87.

Plus, if they were distracted by the chatter that Bynum might be traded to the Denver Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony before the Feb. 24 deadline, it certainly hasn't shown. Bynum, in particular, has shrugged off the recent rumors and played well.

"We went on the road at the perfect time," Odom said. "Because everybody has their own thing going on back home. It's good for our brotherhood, our camaraderie to be on the road. Just being together, it's perfect. We've made good memories."

After a listless start, Bryant seemed bent on turning the Garden electric one more time. He went into the game averaging 30.3 points in his career at the league's oldest arena, which included a building-record 61 points Feb. 2, 2009.

Bryant sank jump shots from varying distances and angles on the court, torching New York's Danilo Gallinari and anyone else who tried to guard him in the first quarter. He capped the period with a jumper at the buzzer that made it 30-28.

"They got the momentum early, so I tried to see if I could get it back," Bryant said. "I know if I knock down two or three shots in a row, all of a sudden everybody is saying it's going to be one of those nights. That takes momentum away from them.